US Oil Companies Prepare for Venezuela Gold Rush

Unseating the country's president and establishing more pliant leadership within Venezuela marks only the opening move in what is shaping up to be America's most audacious energy gambit in decades—attempting to harness the country's vast resource wealth in the face of capital constraints and a web of infrastructural and political hurdles.

If there were any pretense that the capture of Nicolás Maduro was driven purely by his involvement in "narcoterrorism" against the U.S., President Donald Trump dispelled this during Saturday's press conference, shortly after what he called the "extraordinary military operation."

"Oil" received its first mention a few minutes into Trump's speech, and six more over the course of the 20-minute address as he discussed the nighttime raid, its precursors and his administration's still-vague plans to "run" the country following Maduro's ouster.